Cycle a new tank

[Essjay]

I'm on day 3 and I added Dr Tim's one and only and the right dose of ammonia my ammonia reading is 0.25 and 0 nitrite do I add another so we of ammonia

It sounds as though the Dr Tims is doing it's job. Because the cycle appears to be going a lot faster than if you hadn't used it, you don't need to stick religiously to the method on here. It took 3 weeks for my ammonia level to drop without a bacterial supplement!

I assume you added enough ammonia to get a reading of 3 ppm initially? If yes, I would add another 3 ppm dose of ammonia and test every day rather than every second day. When ammonia hits zero, you'll probably find zero nitrite as well. If that happens, add another 3 ppm ammonia and if both are zero 24 hours later, you are cycled. But if ammonia falls quickly but nitrite goes up, only add 1 ppm ammonia when you've had zero ammonia then zero again 2 days later.

 

[Kazaw92]

Yes mate but I've seen it on YouTube lad had exactly same results as me and dr tim said to put in 1 drop per gallon in stead of putting 4 drops per gallon so I've just put in 1 drop per gallon and I'll test it tomoz see what it's saying but how come there no nitrite showing ?

 

[Essjay]

When you added ammonia, what was the reading of ammonia in the tank after adding it? For a 130 litre tank, you should add 4.11 ml from a typical bottle of ammonia to get 3 ppm. Dr Tim also makes ammonium chloride for cycling and that is a lot more concentrated than bottles of ammonia solution; the instructions for One & Only will be for Dr Tim's ammonium chloride rather than a bottle of ammonia solution.

When you add the next dose of ammonia, measure the ammonia level after half an hour to check how much you've added. The half hour wait is to let in all mix in completely.

 

[Kazaw92]

It's the same amount as before so I add in another 3 times I did because it says 4 drops per gallon and I only did 1 drop per gallon

 

[Essjay]

What says 4 drops per gallon?

What is the ammonia you are using - the brand and concentration if they give it?

 

[Kazaw92]

Dr Tim's ammonia says 4 drops per gallon

 

[Essjay]

Ah, that's different. Dr Tim's ammonia is actually ammonium chloride and is more concentrated than bottles of ammonia.

Add what they say, then wait half an hour and test for ammonia, see what concentration that gives. If you've only added 1 drop per gallon instead of the 4 drops they say, you won't have added enough. You need to add enough to get a tank water ammonia reading of 3 ppm.

 

[Kazaw92]

Right i put my third dose of dr Tim ammonia and and waited 24 hours i have 1ppm or even less i have 0 nitrite and of the chart natrates am i cycled n need to do water change or do I need to wait a day or 2

 

[Essjay]

With an ammonia reading of 1 ppm, the cycle is not finished. You say it may be less than 1 ppm but if it is between 0.5 and 1 ppm, that is too high for a completed cycle. See what the reading is tomorrow.

 

[Kazaw92]

If the Reading under 0.5 tomoz that mean its done

 

[Essjay]

Being the over cautious type, if it was my tank and the ammonia was below 0.5 tomorrow, I'd add another dose of ammonia (enough to get 3 ppm) then test next day.
One thing you could try is testing the ammonia level in some bottled water if you have any. I know that with the API ammonia tester there is a quirk in that some people never see the zero colour. Some people's eye sight just can't see the yellow, and some types of light affect the colour the water in the tube appears. Fluorescent light, including compact fluorescent light bulbs, make the water look greener than it really is. Testing water that should have no ammonia in it will show what ammonia-free water looks like. Tap water can legally have up to 0.5 ppm ammonia which is why I didn't say to test that.

 

[Kazaw92]

Because i texted yesterday n it said 0 ammonia thats why I did my third dose of ammonia so tomoz if its 0 should I put more ammonia in n if that clewrs 24 hours after that mean its cycled

 

[Essjay]

The fact that you have a small ammonia reading 24 hours after adding ammonia means it is not quite cycled yet. The cautious way would be to wait till it is zero, then add more ammonia. The less cautious way is to do the big water change, then get about half the fish you intend stocking, and check the water every day. You should easily have enough bacteria for a half stocked tank. Then assuming ammonia and nitrite stay at zero, add the rest of the fish one batch at a time, and test for several days after each. If ever you do get readings above zero, do big water changes to get them to zero and keep them there and add fish more slowly.

 

[Kazaw92]

Right i wait tomoz and if its 0 ill add more ammonia but what if it dosent go 0 in 24 hours does that mean ill after add more ammonia when it goes back to 0

 

[Essjay]

In theory, yes. The very last stage can take ages. I know, been there, got the T shirt

Or just do the big water change to reset the water back to the same as your tap water and get half the fish you want, then stock slowly for the rest (checking the ammonia and nitrite levels every day for a while)